House of Cards

by Nat Burns

The reason for gathering may be cards, but the game is really gossip.

Widow Kaylen Stauder is more or less content with her non-dating status. She’s listened for decades to the hateful gossip bandied by the women of the Freshwater Magnolia Club—and she wants none of it to be about her.

Coping with domineering men all her life, she didn’t count on falling for gentle Eda Byrne. She didn’t plan for love, let alone passion, especially with another woman. She’s never believed in irresistible attraction, until now.

Past the time of life when she ever thought she’d have to make such choices, Kaylen must decide which she needs more: her community or a woman’s love.

Nat Burns peels away the civilized veneer of a small North Carolina town in this passionate story of a mature woman discovering the price and value of love for the first time.

Extras

Nat Burns finds her way inside the minds of her characters and her settings.

Second chances - even third chances to get it right, for good!

GCLS Goldie Awards

House of Cards - Finalist, Lesbian General/Dramatic Fiction

2011 Lavender Certificate

Nat Burns: 2011 recognition to promising new writer from the Alice B Committee of Arizona.

Reviews

Lambda Literary

Victoria Brownworth: House of Cards is a superb novel. More than just a standard formula lesbian romance novel, Burns' story takes the reader through the sometimes comforting, sometimes perilous claustrophobia of small-town life, while also telling the tale of a middle-aged woman's sexual and romantic awakening.

Nat Burns: 2011 recognition to promising new writer from the Alice B Committee of Arizona.

Just About Write

Lynn Pearce, December 2010: Burns gives us an unapologetic rendition of life in a small North Carolinian town with all its warts. But she also gives us a promise of love for someone entering the summer of her life.

Anna Furtado, November 2010: Burns does a wonderful job of showing the emotional path Kaylen takes as she looks at her life. Burns has also skillfully shown the character of Eda, as she and Kaylen do their delicate dance toward each other... House of Cards is a richly detailed book showing the growth of main characters as well as life in a small town.